The House of Gaian by Anne Bishop

Fragile Bonds are Brutally Tested....

It began as a witch-hunt. But the Master Inquisitor's plans to eliminate all traces of female power in the world have expended to crushing the Sylvalan barons who oppose him - and to destroying the wellspring of magic in the Mother's Hills.

Faced with this evil, humans, witches, and the Fae become uneasy allies. But even together they aren't strong enough to stand against the armies the Inquisitors are gathering. So they look for help from their last possible ally: the House of Gaian. The reclusive witches who rule the Mother's Hills. The witches powerful enough to create a world - or to destroy one....

And the witches' long-held creed of 'Do No Harm' is about to give way to a more important one: Survive.

I will apologise in advance that this is going to be a quickie review, simply because I finished it so long ago, that I can remember general things but not necessarily specifics!

In the conclusion to the Tir Alainn trilogy, the world as it is knows is coming to an end unless the Bard can join forces with the new Huntress, who also happens to be one of the House of Gaian. They must stop the Master Inquisitor from destroying the world, but at the same time many of the characters must find the inner strength within them, and the strength of love to bind them together and hold them through tough times. For brother and sister Liam and Breanna this may mean finding love in unexpected places, and the brother/sister dynamics here were well written as Liam seeks to protect Breanna, which she does everything she can to escape his protection. The glimpses of amusement in the pages were a welcome respite from the looming battle between good and evil, between death and survival.

I do think that Bishop struggled to find who the central characters were in this series - were the main characters Aiden and Lyrra, or Breanna and Liam, Neall and Ari or others. I suspect that it was supposed to be more of an ensemble cast, but at times the narrative was a bit clunky, and the changes of perspective a bit too uneven to work fully as an ensemble piece.

If there are fans of the Black Jewels books who begin to read this story, there is a chance that they will not enjoy the same fantastic experience as the Black Jewels trilogy but I did close the book with a sigh of enjoyment, and having enjoyed the ride through this trilogy.

This trilogy, which started with Pillars of the World and continued in Shadows and Light is definitely worth reading!

Rating 4/5

Shadows and Light by Anne Bishop

Ever since the slaughter of the witches, the Fae - who should be shielding their long-lost cousins from danger- have ignored the needs of the rest of the world. And shadows are again gathering in the Eastern villages - dark, potent shadows that threaten the lives of every witch, woman, and Fae. Only three Fae can stand against the growing madness and help prevent more bloodshed - the Bard, the Muse, and the Gatherer of Souls.

Aiden, the Bard knows how desperately the world depends upon the Fae's protection. but the Fae refuse to heed his warnings about the wickedness lurking amid the trees. Now Aiden and his one true love - Lyrra, the Muse - must embark on a perilous journey to find the one Fae who can convince the rest to leave their secure perches to save the witches and mortals. Because if the Fae don't act soon, no one will survive...

This is the second book in the Tir Alainn trilogy and follows on from Pillars of the World, and features many of the same characters. This time, the focus is more on Aiden, Lyrra and Morag. Aiden and Lyrra in particular are travelling through Tir Alainn trying to convince the other members of the Fae of the importance of the witches role in keeping their world whole.

Once again, the Inquisitors are at work, trying to bring all of the women under control, and to specifically destroy the power of the witches. This time, they are trying to exert their power by getting the most powerful leaders in the country to come round to their way of thinking and ban all women from reading, writing, painting, basically anything that can be seen to require independent thought is banned to all women in certain parts in the country.

We are introduced to a young baron, Liam, who is making his way to his first Baron's council, and as he starts to hear of plans to expand this policy across the country, he protests vigorously. The Inquisitor's are however very dangerous men, and Liam finds his life in danger, and has to flee back to his home via a very circuitous route. Liam and his new friend and fellow baron Patrick are determined to protect their women folk as much as they can, especially given that both of them have connections to Fae or witches themselves.

Meanwhile, Neall and Ari, who we first met in the last book have settled in their new home, and have Morag, The Gatherer, with them. As danger comes closer to their idyllic home, Aiden and Lyrra appear and no one is sure whether The Bard and The Muse can be fully trusted. It could be that sometimes you just need to take a risk in order to prevail.

In many ways this book feels like a second book! I know that that probably sounds funny in a way. It's just that it was very readable, but there were many things that were introduced that weren't explained. I realised that they probably will be in the third and final book, but by having things like Liam's power, Breanna (Liam's half sister) and Falco's budding relationship, and other things introduced and then kind of just left hanging meant that this book felt incomplete in many ways.

Another example is the marriage between Aiden and Lyrra. Whilst the reasons for their unusual union (in the Fae world at least) were very nicely written, there was lots mentioned about how horrified the rest of the Fae would be, but then when they met other Fae it either just wasn't mentioned, or was accepted.

So whilst I enjoyed reading this one, and am looking forward to reading the third and final book in this trilogy, it wasn't without it's faults!

Rating 4/5

Pillars of the World by Anne Bishop

The trees whisper of Danger...

The youngest in a long line of witches, Ari senses that things are changing - changing for the worse. For generations, her kin have tended the Old Places, keeping the land safe and fertile. But with the Summer Moon, the mood of her neighbours has soured. And Ari is no longer safe.

The Fae have long ignored what occurs in the mortal world, passing through on their shadowy roads only long enough to amuse themselves. But the roads are slowly disappearing, leaving the Fae Clans isolated and alone.

Where harmony between the spiritual and the natural has always reigned, a dissonant chord now rings in the ears of both Fae and mortal. When murmurs of a witch-hunt hum through the town, some begin to wonder if the different omens are notes in the same tune.

And all they have to guide them is a passing reference to something called The Pillars of the World...

After reading the Black Jewel trilogy by Anne Bishop and absolutely loving it, I was always going to read more from this author, but I will admit to a degree of apprehension. What happens if a new series isn't as compelling or interesting as the very hard to top BJ trilogy. Luckily, for me at least, it wasn't really an issue! I know that there are others around who were disappointed in this new trilogy, but I really did enjoy this first book in the series.

Whilst there are some shared ideas in this series and the BJ trilogy (for example the idea of linked worlds), I found the world building in this book much less intrusive in this novel than in the first BJ book. At the end of Daughter of the Blood, I had to confess that I was still trying to figure the worlds out, but there was no such trouble with this book!

Ari is our main female character, and she is a witch who lives in one of the Old Places, protecting the earth and renewing it to enhance the world around it. In the process, the witches like Ari also protects the roads to Tir Alainn, the world where the Fae live. As an evil Inquisitor successfully kills off more and more of the witches, the roads to Tir Alainn are disappearing, and the Fae don't know why.

Ari is tricked into accepting a love spell that says that she must offer a treat to the man of her choice and then give herself too him for a prescribed period. When Ari meets one of the Fae leaders, Lucien the Lightbearer) she becomes his lover, much to the consternation of both Neall and his cousin. Neall is upset because he has secretly loved Ari for a long time, and hopes to marry her and take her back to the land that he has kept secret from his family ever since they took him in as an orphan. His cousin is was just determined to own Ari and is determined to gain his revenge against her for not accepting his attention!

So for the first part of the book, the relationship between Ari and Lucien is the focus, and mainly concentrates on the different expectations that they each have, both because they are male and female, but also because she is a witch and he Fae. Lucien's fellow Fae are also interested in Ari, because normally they try to stay away from witches, but as they come to know her, they also find some clues that suggest the only way to save their world is to find The Pillars of the World. Perhaps Ari can help?

All of a sudden though, the relationship focus changes from being Ari and Lucien to being Ari and Neall, who it turns out may not be all that he seems, but the enemies that Ari has made amongst the town people are turning against her, and it won't be long before the Inquisitor's find her, and destroy her.

The most interesting characters in the book were definitely the Fae and the little people who also make appearances throughout the story, generally helping Ari and keeping an eye on her. Ari was in some ways kind of bland. There was lots of focus on the Wiccan teaching and at times that felt a bit laborious until it actually became time for Ari to show her true power. Neall was also a bit bland but at least that makes them a good match...right?

This was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading more in this series, especially if the Fae are going to be the central characters.

Rating 4/5